Portable support for selectively elevating one end of an article

ABSTRACT

This portable support includes front and rear double-legged frames which are pivotally interconnected at their upper end so that the support may be folded from an open load-carrying condition, suitable for supporting one end of a heavy domestic appliance to a closed storage condition. The front frame includes an arrangement of load-carrying pegs engageable under one edge of the appliance to hold that edge of the appliance at a desired temporary elevation and afford access to the underside.

United States Patent 1191 Trentmann [4 Apr. 10, 1973 [54] PORTABLE SUPPORT FOR 256,811 4/1882 Smith ..248/l66 x T I IN g f LEVA ONE END FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [76] Inventor: Lloyd C. Trentmann, R R. Na 2 1,265,972 5/1961 France ..182/l25 Box 207C, Marthasville, Mo. 63357 Primary Examiner wmiam H. Schultz [22] Filed: Feb. 19, 1971 Attorney-Cohn and Powell [21] Appl. No.: 116,808 [57] ABSTRACT This portable support includes front and rear double- [Z] (51, legged frames which are pivotany interconnected at n. In their upper endsothat the support may be folded [58] Field of Search ..248/l66, 436, 351,

4 3 2 4 l l l R. 2 2 125 from an open load-carrymg condition, sultable for I 2 8/ 5 2 I l 78 18 1 supporting one end ofa heavy domestic appliance to a closed storage condition. The front frame includes an [56] References arrangement of load-carrying pegs engageable under UNITED STATES PATENTS one edge of the appliance to hold that edge of the appliance at a desired temporary elevation and afford 956,399 4/1910 Morse ..248/ 166 X access to the underside, 1,955,509 4/1934 Moeckel.. ...248/l66 X 3,383,071 5/1968 Godson ..248/l66 X 2 Claim, 5

PATENTEB APR1 0 I975 k p n mi L PORTABLE SUPPORT FOR SELECTIVELY ELEVATING ONE END OF AN ARTICLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to a support structure for a heavy article and in particular, to a portable support capable of holding one end of a major domestic appliance or the like in a selected, elevated position.

Major appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines, frequently weigh in excess of 200 pounds. Further, they are bulky articles and in consequence, are difficult to handle. In the repair and maintenance of such appliances, access to the underside of the appliances is often required, rendering it necessary to raise the article in some way so as to elevate at least one end. This presents a considerable problem to the repair and maintenance mechanic, particularly if he is working alone. The problem is aggravated by the fact that even within one particular category, such as washing machines, the size and weight variations of appliances put out by different manufacturers are considerable. Thus, in order to work on the underside of one brand of dishwasher, it may be necessary to elevate the appliance only a few inches, whereas another brand may require that the appliance be elevated considerably higher. Obviously, in the average home, it is unlikely that a support means of suitable size and having sufficient strength to hold a heavy appliance at the desired elevation will be readily available. On the other hand, it is impractical for the repair and maintenance mechanic to carry around with him a variety of suitable supports.

Frequently, the mechanic will be obliged to work in a confined space, thus the size of the means used to support an appliance is important. Further, the support should not be so heavy that it is difficult to handle. The strength and shape of the support are very important from a safety standpoint and it is particularly advisable that the weight of the appliance be distributed to the support evenly so as to avoid tipping. No known portable support device provides a solution to the various problems outlined above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The support provided by this invention is suitable for use with a large variety of heavy articles, particularly major domestic appliances. The support is portable and may easily be moved to a new support location. Further, it is foldable and may be conveniently carried on top of a conventional, mechanic s workbox.

The arrangement of parts of the support in the operative condition enables that the weight of the supported appliance is distributed evenly between ground support points and in consequence, the device cannot be overturned. The provision of aligned rows of vertically and horizontally spaced support points provides unobstructed and stable support of an appliance.

The portable support includes pivotally attached first and second frames, each having ground engaging means at the lower end. The pivotal arrangement of the frame permits the portable support to be unfolded from a closed storage position to an open load-carrying condition. Support elements extend outwardly of one of said frames, said support elements being adapted to selectively elevate one end of an appliance when the other end is ground supported. Tie means extending between the frames preclude spreading of the frame under applied load.

The first frame is rearwardly inclined in the operative condition and the second frame provides a strut supporting said first frame. The first frame has a substantially inverted U-shaped configuration and a transverse brace extending between the legs provides a stiff, closed frame construction. The second frame includes a pair of legs having a brace extending therebetween at the lower end and an open upper end. The upper end of each leg of the second frame is pivotally attached to an associated leg of the first frame, said first frame effectively acting to stiffen the second frame without obstructing the area between the frames in the vicinity of the pivot axis. The bight of the U-shaped member of the first frame is disposed above the pivot axis to provide a carrying handle.

The support elements are provided by a plurality of pegs disposed in spaced relation along the legs of the first frame corresponding pegs of each leg being horizontally aligned in the operative condition. The second frame is narrower than the first frame and the legs of both frames are parallel to facilitate the folding of the support to the closed position.

The support pegs are upwardly inclined in the operative, supporting condition to hook under one edge of a substantially box-shaped appliance when the opposite edge is ground supported. The arrangement of pegs is such that the vertical projection of any load-carrying pegs falls within the span of the ground engaging feet to ensure stability of the support. In addition, the pegs are spaced from each other in the vertical and horizontal direction sufficiently so that the pegs above and below the selected load-carrying pegs do not interfere with placement of the appliance on the support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the portable sup port in the open, operative condition carrying one end of a ground supported article;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the support;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the support;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the support in the closed storage condition, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the support carrying one end of a ground-supported article.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now by characters of reference to the drawing and first to FIG. 1, it will be understood that the portable support, generally indicated by numeral 10, includes a first ground engaging frame 11 and a second ground engaging frame 12 pivotally attached at its upper end to the first frame 11. In FIG. 1, the portable support 10 is illustrated in its operative, open condition in which it supports one end of a ground supported article, for example, a domestic appliance such as a dishwasher, generally indicated by numeral 13. It will be understood that by temporarily elevating one end of the appliance l3, access is afforded to the underside thereof.

More specifically, the first or front frame 11 is provided by an inverted, U-shaped member 14 having a pair of legs 15, constituting side elements and disposed in parallel, side-by-side relation and an arcuate bight element 16. A transverse brace 17 extends between the legs 15 and is securely welded or otherwise fixedly attached to said legs. The brace 17 cooperates with the U-shaped member 14 to provide a rigid, closed frame formed from the bight element 16, the transverse brace provide spaced, horizontally aligned points of support constituting support means for the appliance 13.

The second or rear frame 12 includes a pair of legs 22, constituting side elements disposed in parallel, sideby-side relation, and a transverse brace 23 which extends between and is fixedly attached to the legs 22 as by welding. The lower portion of the legs 22 is provided with self-adjusting, ground engaging feet 24 similar to those provided for the front frame 11. Each leg 22 is pivotally attached at its upper end to an associated leg of the front frame 11 by means of a rivet 25 which extends through adjacent legs 15 and 22. The rivets 25 are substantially axially aligned to provide a pivot axis about which the frames 11 and 12 may be rotated relative to each other. Because the rear frame 12 is narrower than the front frame 11 and because the legs 15 and 22 are parallel, the rear frame 12 can be folded into nested relation within the front frame 11, as shown in FIG. 4, for convenient storage and to facilitate the attachment of the portable support 10 to a mechanic's workbox or similar carrying means.

It will be understood that although the rear frame 12 has an open configuration at the upper end, the attachment of the legs 22 at the upper end to the front frame 11, which is relatively rigid because of the closed construction, precludes inward bending of the legs 22 because said legs 22 are effectively held apart by attachment to said frame 11. Thus, an extremely stable and stiff rear frame is provided without sacrificing the advantages of having an unobstructed area between the legs of the frames, particularly in the vicinity of the first axis. In the preferred embodiment, the bight element 16 is disposed above the pivot axis and provides a convenient carrying handle.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the frames 11 and 12 are held apart in the open, operative condition by means of a chain 26. The chain 26 constitutes a tie member and precludes spreading of the frames 11 and 12 under the weight of the appliance 13, the chain being attached by nut and bolt assemblies 27 and 28 respectively, to the front and rear frames 11 and 12.

It is thought that the functional advantages and structural features of this portable support have become fully apparent from the foregoing description of parts,

but for completeness of disclosure, the use of the device will be briefly summarized.

The portable support 10 is particularly suitable for holding one end of a domestic appliance in a selected elevatedposition to permit access to the underside of said appliance. When such support is required, the portable support 10 is unfolded from the closed, stored condition, indicated in FIG. 4, to the open, supporting condition, indicated in FIGS. 1 and 5 and disposed on the ground adjacent the appliance 13 with which it is to be used. Although major domestic appliances are relatively heavy, it is not a difficult matter to raise one edge, such as the front edge 30, by tilting about an opposed ground supported edge, such as the rear edge 31. When such tilting has been achieved, the portable support 10 which may be conveniently handled by grasping the bight portion 16 of the front frame 11 may easily be pushed into position. The appliance 13 is then lowered slightly onto an appropriate horizontally aligned pair of pegs 21 corresponding to the approximate elevation desired. It will be observed that in the operative condition, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 5, the pegs 21 which are engageable with the front edge 30 of the appliance 13, are, because of the rearward inclination of the frame 11, hooked under said front edge 30.

The reason for this is that the pegs 21 are-perpendicularly attached to the front legs 13 and, in consequence of the rearward inclination of the front frame 11, the pegs 21 are upwardly inclined relative to the horizontal. This arrangement precludes the possibility of inadvertent disengagement of the portable support 10 from the appliance.

With regard to the arrangement of the pegs 21, it will be observed from FIG. 1 that the vertical component of any load carried by one or a pair of pegs 21 is automatically disposed between the span of the ground engaging feet 20 and 24 of the frames 11 and 12 respectively. In effect, the frames 11 and 12 and the tie 26 provide a stable A-frame structure. There is thus no possibility that the support 10 can overturn.

It will be further observed that the spacing of the pegs 21 is sufficiently great to avoid any likelihood of interference between the appliance l3 and the vertically adjacent pegs 21 disposed above and below those pegs 21 which are actually carrying the weight of the appliance 13. Indicated in FIG. 2, the appliance 13 is carried in preferenceby a pair of horizontally aligned pegs 21 engageable under the front edge 30. The likelihood of overturning the support 10 in the plane of the frames is, therefore, remote. In many appliances, weight distribution is uneven because of the location of heavy parts such as electric motors. It will be understood that the stability of the support 10 is increased if the support is placed underthe side of the appliance 13 which carries a preponderance of the weight.

I claim as my invention:

l. A combination of a major domestic appliance and a portable support comprising:

a. a ground supported substantially box-shaped appliance including:

1. a first support portion having spaced ends and an edge therebetween,

2. a second support portionhaving spaced ends,

and

b. a folding portable support for selectively tilting the appliance by operatively supporting the edge of the first support portion of the appliance between the spaced ends when the second support portion of the appliance is ground supported, said portable support including:

l. a first frame including an upper end and a lower ground engaging end, said first frame including:

I. a pair of elongate elements disposed in sideby-side relation and extending between said upper and lower ends, and

II. support means including a plurality of horizontally aligned pairs of vertically spaced support pegs extending outwardly and upwardly from each of said elongate elements in the operative support position to engagingly receive said appliance edge in hooked relation,

2. a second frame including an upper end and a lower ground engaging end, said second frame including:

I. a pair of elongate elements disposed in sideby-side relation and extending between said upper and lower ends, each elongate element being attached at one end in pivotal relation to an associated elongate element of the first frame,

ll. bracing means extending between the elongate elements in spaced relation from the pivotal connection, and

3. means between the frames precluding movement of the frames away from each other in the supporting condition,

c. said first support portion of the appliance being disposed between the ground engaging ends of the first and second frames and said second support portion of the appliance being disposed outwardly of said ground engaging ends.

2. A portable support as defined in claim 1, in which: d. the first frame includes an inverted U-shaped the second frame is short relative to the first frame and supports the closed framebetween the ends of the first frame in the operative supporting condition, whereby said closed frame holds the elongate elements of the second frame apart and the bight provides an unobstructed carrying handle. 

1. A combination of a major domestic appliance and a portable support comprising: a. a ground supported substantially box-shaped appliance including:
 1. a first support portion having spaced ends and an edge therebetween,
 2. a second support portion having spaced ends, and b. a folding portable support for selectively tilting the appliance by operatively supporting the edge of the first support portion of the appliance between the spaced ends when the second support portion of the appliance is ground supported, said portable support including:
 1. a first frame including an upper end and a lower ground engaging end, said first frame including: I. a pair of elongate elements disposed in side-by-side relation and extending between said upper and lower ends, and II. support means including a plurality of horizontally aligned pairs of vertically spaced support pegs extending outwardly and upwardly from each of said elongate elements in the operative support position to engagingly receive said appliance edge in hooked relation,
 2. a second frame including an upper end and a lower ground engaging end, said second frame including: I. a pair of elongate elements disposed in side-by-side relation and extending between said upper and lower ends, each elongate element being attached at one end in pivotal relation to an associated elongate element of the first frame, II. bracing means extending between the elongate elements in spaced relation from the pivotal connection, and
 3. means between the frames precluding movement of the frames away from each other in the supporting condition, c. said first support portion of the appliance being disposed between the ground engaging ends of the first and second frames and said second support portion of the appliance being disposed outwardly of said ground engaging ends.
 2. A portable support as defined in claim 1, in which: d. the first frame includes an inverted U-shaped member having a pair of substantially parallel legs providing the elongate elements, said legs being interconnected by an arcuate bight and by a transverse brace disposed in spaced relation from the bight to provide a unitary closed frame defining an unobstructed area extending the greater part of the length of the frame, and e. the second frame is short relative to the firSt frame and supports the closed frame between the ends of the first frame in the operative supporting condition, whereby said closed frame holds the elongate elements of the second frame apart and the bight provides an unobstructed carrying handle.
 2. a second frame including an upper end and a lower ground engaging end, said second frame including: I. a pair of elongate elements disposed in side-by-side relation and extending between said upper and lower ends, each elongate element being attached at one end in pivotal relation to an associated elongate element of the first frame, II. bracing means extending between the elongate elements in spaced relation from the pivotal connection, and
 2. a second support portion having spaced ends, and b. a folding portable support for selectively tilting the appliance by operatively supporting the edge of the first support portion of the appliance between the spaced ends when the second support portion of the appliance is ground supported, said portable support including:
 3. means between the frames precluding movement of the frames away from each other in the supporting condition, c. said first support portion of the appliance being disposed between the ground engaging ends of the first and second frames and said second support portion of the appliance being disposed outwardly of said ground engaging ends. 